As Florida vies for bragging rights, air cargo emerges as rare area of dominance

Florida has embarked on a costly — and, skeptics say, misguided — effort to turn the state’s seaports into bustling hubs for super-post-Panamax freight. Intriguingly, Florida — or at least Miami — already has emerged as a national capital for air freight.

The cargo stats provide rare bragging rights for the Sunshine State, which is an also-ran in ocean freight and medical research, two industries that have received huge public subsidies. In air cargo, Miami tops Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York. MIA trails only Memphis, Anchorage, Alaska, and Louisville, Ky.